Wheeled device for launching and beaching small boats



July 13, 1954 e. H. STRAYER WHEELED DEVICE FOR LAUNCHING AND BEACHINGSMALL BOATS Filed April 17, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheer l GEUEGE H STKA yi i gttorneg y 1954 G. H. 'STRAYER 2,683,268 WHEELED DEVICE FOR LAUNCHING ANDBEACHING SMALL BOATS Filed April 17, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Snventor650E6 5 H Patented July 13, 1954 OFFICE WHEELED TDEVICE FDR LAUNCHINGAND BEACHI-NG SMALL BOATS George H. Strayer, Erie, Pa.

Application April 17, 1950, Serial No. 156,394 1 Claim. (01. 9 1) 1."llhisfinvention relates generally to means for making a boat portableon land and it relates more particularly to removable wheeled mem-.

bers for attachment to a small boat .for launching and beaching theboat.

All. devices .of this character, made in accordance with the teachingsof the prior art, and with which I am familiar, merely comprise awheeled :axle or buggy sepia-rate from the boat. With these priordevices, when beaching a boat .it has been necessary to get out of the:boat, get a wheeled buggy from storage on the beach, and place it underthe rearportion'of the boat. .It is only with great difficulty that theboat is removed from the water inasmuch as two men must work in waterthat is generally waist deep with such :a'device. The boat tends to slipon these prior ibuggies which adds to' the diillcu'lty of beaching aboat. Likewise, when a boat is floated with these :prior devices, it isnecessary to go into comparatively deep water to remove the carryingbuggy from :under the boat and place it in safe storage on the beach. Itis necessary to beach these prior boat carrying buggies as they are toobulky and-heavy tocarry in'a small boat.

It is, accordingly; an object of my invention to overcome the above andother difficulties in wheeled devices for launching and beaching a boatand "it is more particularly an object of my invention to provide awheeled device for launching and beachingaboat which is simple inconstruction, economical in cost, economical in manutacturejeflicientinoperation and easy to install and remove. 7

Another object of my invention is to provide wheels for beaching orfloating a boat which may be installed and removed 'from inside theboat.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wheeled device for asmall boat whereby the boat may 'bebeached or launched-by one man.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wheeled device for'beaching and launching a boat which may be removed by a person in theboat and. carried in the boat.

Another object -oi my invention is to provide a wheeled device 'forlaunching and beaching a boat which is "extremely light and buoyant .andwhich may therefore 'be carried in the boat as a lifepreserver.

Another object of my invention :is to provide a novel arrangement andconstruction of detachable wheels for-a boat for beaching and launchingsame.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wheeled device forbeaching and launching a boat which permits one man to beach and launch.the boat without getting Wet, in most instances. {Other objects of myinvention will become evident from the following detailed description,taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 isa side elevational view of a boat with one wheel bracket removed;

Fig. .2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1showing my novel wheeled brackets assembled;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view showing theconnection attaching one of my wheeled brackets to a boat;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational View of a modified form of wheeled bracketattached to the side of a boat;

Figs. '5 and 6 are side .elevational views of the wheeled bracket shownin Fig. 4 assembled on the side of a boat with a brace member forbracing same; and.

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of another form of my novel wheeledbracket.

Fig. .8 is a cross sectional View taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, I show in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive aconventional fiat bottom boat I which may be propelled by oars or amotor. Plates 2 are secured to the inner sides 3 of the boat bysuita'ble fastening members 4. The plates '2 have apertures through whichextend a tubular member 6 which is welded to the plates 2 at 5. Thetubular member 6 has inserts to in the ends thereof with a square borefor receiving the square ends "8 of right angled brackets 9. The rightangled brackets 9 have outwardly extending shafts 'l 93 upon which aremounted wheels I I having balloon tires 42 disposed thereon. A metalsuch as aluminum used for making the brackets '9 and the Wheels H isextremely light so that the 'ball'oontires l2 make the wheeled brackets9 buoyant in water. The square ends 8 of the brackets 23 have outwardlyextending, opposed, recessed spring catch members 13 for engagingdiametrically extending pins 14 in the tubular shaft 6. The springmembers l3 have outwardly flared lips it so that they pass directly overthe pins 44 to a locked position by merely being inserted in the squarebored inserts 6a in the ends of the tubular member :6. Conversely, thesquare :ponti'ons =8 :of the brackets 9 may be withdrawn from theinserts ea in the ends of the shaft 6 by merely pulling outwardly on thebracket 9 whereby the spring members 43 will expand outwardly and bereleased from the pins M in the shaftt.

In operation, when the boat approachesa shore or beach and it is desiredto beach the boat, it is merely necessary to insert the square stubshaft ends '3 of the brackets .9 in the inserts 6a in the 'from theregistered apertures.

ends of the shaft 6 with the brackets 9 extending vertically downwardlyas shown in Fig. 2. Ihe bow of the boat is then run to the edge of theWater so that the operator can get out of the bow of the boat onto thebeach without getting wet. The bow of the boat is then tilted upwardlyand pulled whereupon the tires 52 engage the bottom, if they have notalready done so, and the boat is easily pulled ashore and transported toa storage place. The shaft 6 is placed at the balance point lengthwiseof the boat. If an outboard motor is used on the boat, this is takeninto consideration in locating the balance point on the boat. A boat maybe easily pushed or pulled to any point on the beach with my noveldevice.

When it is desired to launch the boat, assuming my novel brackets 9 areattached, it is wheeled to the waters edge and then pushed into thewater until the bow of the boat reaches the shoreline. In mostinstances, the shoreline will slope off enough at this point to free thetires l2 on the wheels H from the bottom. The operator then gets intothe bow of the boat without getting wet and the boat is floated. Theboat is then rowed or paddled to deeper water. Th operator then reach-esover the side and pulls the square ends 8 of the brackets 9 from theinserts 6a in the shaft 6 and the brackets 9 with the wheels I l arecarried in the boat. The buoyant tires I2 may be used as life preserversin case of an emergency.

In Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive, I show a modified .form of my inventionwherein a bracket 20 is attached by suitable fastening members 2! to theinside of the side 22 of a boat. The bracket 20 .has an outwardlyextending boss 26 with a vertically extending aperture 24 therethroughfor receiving a leg 25 of an inverted U-shaped bracket 26-. The leg 25of the bracket 26 has a transversely extending aperture for registrationwith a transversely extending aperture 28 in the boss 23 of the bracket20. through the registered apertures in the leg 25 and boss 23 of thebracket 20, respectively, to lock the leg 25 of the bracket 26 in theaperture 24 in the boss 23 of the bracket 26. member 38 is mounted onthe gunnel 8! of the side 22 of the boat to support the bracket 26. Theouter depending leg 32 of the bracket 26 has an outwardly extendingshaft 39 for mounting a wheel 34 with a balloon tire 35. The bracket 26is well supported and will carry al1 normal sized small boats withmotors attached thereto; however, in some instances, I have found itpreferable to brace the bracket 26. In this instance,

I secure one hooked end of a diagonally extending brace 31 to a bracket66 attached to the forward part of the gunnel 31 of the side 22 of theboat and the other hooked end is detachably hooked in an aperture 38 inthe leg 32 of the bracket 26.

The operation of the wheeled bracket shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 is thesame as for the wheeled bracket 9 shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. With thebracket shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, there is no chance for the attachingparts and sockets to be corroded as attachment is on the inside of theboat. It will be apparent that it will only be necessary to register theaperture in the leg 25 of the bracket 26 with the transversely extendingaperture 28 in the boss 23 of the bracket 28 and extend a pin 29therethrough to secure the bracket 26 to the side of the boat. To removethe bracket 26 from the boat after the boat is floated, it is onlynecessary to pull the pin 29 The brace 31 is A pin 29 is extended- Abearing acsaees merely one with hooked ends so that it may be easilydisposed in place and removed. The bearing member 30 may be removable orit may be one which opens for removal of the bracket 26.

In Fig. 7, I show a right angled wheeled bracket 40 with a rectangularshaped upper end 4! secured by brackets 42. The bracket 40 may be usedwhere a boat is decked over either at the bow or on each side amidshipsthereof.

It will be evident from the foregoing description that I have providednovel wheeled members for attachment to a boat for launching the boatfrom a beach and for beaching the boat, which may be placed in anoperative position and detached from inside the boat while the boat isafloat, which are buoyant and which may be carried in the boat for useas a life preserver, which permit one man to launch and beach a smallboat without getting wet, and which are very simple to install anddetach.

When my novel wheeled brackets are attached to a boat, the bow thereofmay be attached to an automobile or the like for transportation overland. The balloon tires take up much of the impact from travel overrough roads. A wheeled bracket 40 as shown in Fig. 7 may be attached fortravel.

Various changes may be made in the specific embodiment of m inventionwithout departing from the spirit thereof or from the scope of theappended claim.

What I claim is:

A wheeled device for transporting a boat comprising an open endedtubular member adapted to be disposed transversely of a boat with theends thereof coincidental with the outer sides of a boat, bracketshaving a stub shaft portion for insertion into the ends of said tubularmember, wheels carried by said brackets, means for securing said stubshafts of said brackets in the ends of said tubular member againstrotation, and snap connecting means for detachably securing the stubshafts of said brackets in the ends of said tubular member, the ends ofsaid tubular member each having a polygonal bore and a pin extendingtransversely thereof, said stub shaft portions on said brackets beingpolygonal in shape corresponding to the polygonal shape of said bore andthe ends of said stub shafts bein split to define snap spring membersfor connection with the transvers pins in said tubular member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 443,260 Preston Dec. 23, 1890 1,154,287 Butcher Sept. 21, 19151,374,994 Faik Apr. 19, 19 1 1,560,983 Gibbs et al. Nov. 10, 19251,642,502 Krasberg Sept. 13, 1927 1,837,278 Matthews Dec. 22, 19311,946,497 Little Feb. 13, 1934 2,115,864 Livermon May 3, 1938 2,294,109Donaldson Aug. 25, 1942 2,410,570 Davis Nov. 5, 1946 2,422,930 RutledgeJune 24, 1947 2,424,641 Swanson July 29, 1947 2,455,048 Du Brie Nov. 30,1948 2,489,414 Holmes Nov. 29', 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date10,743 Great Britain May 1, 1914 265,091 Switzerland Feb. 16, 1950

